


Fright Fest

by literaryempress



Series: Max and Isaac's Infinite Storybook [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Adventure, Amusement Parks, F/M, Family, Friendship, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Roller Coasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 02:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5113001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryempress/pseuds/literaryempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian and Mickey decide to take Isaac and Max to Six Flags on Halloween day, accompanied by Mandy, Karen, and friends from Max's elementary school. The thrill gets taken in many different directions as they experience a wide range of roller coasters, an array of creepy park creatures, and a lost child losing his way around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gone Boy

Mickey wasn’t entirely sure why he and Ian agreed to go with Mandy and Karen to Six Flags this Halloween, much less bring Isaac and Max with them since he wasn’t sure how they would take the creepy bastards in make-up and shit, running around the park and making everyone piss themselves, but there wasn’t really much they could do about it now. They were already in line, waiting to put their stuff through the security’s conveyor belt up ahead.

Max had a few friends from his elementary school that wanted to go to Six Flags as well, and they all insisted that they wear their Halloween costumes. Ian was pretty geeked the fuck out when he found out that Max wanted to dress up as a kid Joker. About a week and a half prior, they, along with Mandy, had gone to find all of the pieces for the costume: a metallic, green vest to go over his button-up, purple dress shirt, a pair of black dress pants, purple gloves, and some white, red, and black face paint. And after hours of begging Mickey to do so, it was agreed that they spray some green hair color in the boy’s hair.

If Mickey didn’t know better, he would have said that his son looked very unrecognizable by now.

Ian had Isaac in his arms as the group waited in line. For some reason, he didn’t want to wear his vampire costume to Six Flags that day, which was a relief for Mickey in a sense that he didn’t have to worry about all of them being late because they had to dress their own kids. Isaac settled for his black and orange jack-o-lantern tank underneath his black jean jacket, for it was pretty cool outside for October.

Karen and Mandy were standing in front of the men and their kids, observing the scenery in front of them as the couple before them got their bags checked. “This looks like an alien convention,” Karen mumbled under her breath as she took in the sight of a man with green face paint plastered all over his face. He just so happened to be one of the Six Flags actors who was hired to scare the living shit out of everyone who walked past.

“Doesn’t get any cornier than this,” Mandy replied as she stepped up and placed her open, black purse and her phone through the conveyor belt. Karen did the same with her drawstring bag and waited as Mandy got her body scanned through the archway scanner.

At the sight of the people in the distance running away from the guy in make-up, Isaac gripped hard onto Ian’s collar. “Daddy,” he whimpered, hiding his face in Ian’s neck.

Ian rubbed little circles onto the little boy’s back. “Don’t worry, kiddo. They’re not real monsters; just people dressed like them.”

“They’re scary.” Isaac pouted.

Mickey rolled his eyes and sighed, taking his phone out of his pocket and preparing himself to walk through the scanner. “I knew we should have left him with your sister, man.”

Ian looked up ahead towards the back of Mickey’s head. “He wanted to come with us, Mick.”

“So he could wet himself when the boogeyman pops out of the bushes?” Mickey scoffed. “No thanks.”

At that, Isaac started to panick in Ian’s arms, gaining a tighter grip around the older man’s body as he looked around the park. “The boogeyman’s coming to get me?” he cried, hiding his eyes into Ian’s shoulders once more.

The older redhead rolled his eyes. “Nice going, Mick.”

Mickey grumbled as he placed his phone and wallet on the conveyor belt, being led to the other side of the fence to get frisked by one of the security guards. Ian did the same, bringing Max and Isaac with him to the other side. Once everyone had their stuff, they stood in a huddle a couple of feet from the entrance.

“So what, we doin’ the buddy system or some shit?” Karen asked between Mandy, Mickey, and Ian, the latter covering Isaac’s ears at the sound of her profanity.

Mandy looked between Ian and Mickey, folding her arms. “I’m getting on rides, if you’re already thinking up some ideas.” Her eyes fell upon Isaac, who still had his tiny arms around Ian. “I don’t know what you’re gonna do with the teeny tiny tater tot over there, but he’s not old enough to get flipped upside down.”

Ian shrugged. “I’m fine with whatever, but Max wants to hang out with his friends.”

“Don’t they have a chaperone?” Karen asked, craning her head around and noticing the group of tiny princesses and ghosts surrounding a couple of adults.

“Yeah, Dad,” Max replied, looking up at Ian. “I can go on the rides with them. Can I go?”

Ian was hesitant about leaving one of his kids with people he doesn’t know. Two of the adults, Oliver Baxter and Patricia Lu, were new to Ian, yet had agreed to join the kids on the trip here. They were the parents of two of Max’s friends, though, so if Max stuck with his friends as long as possible, then it shouldn’t be too bad.

Finally, he ran a free hand in Max’s green hair. “Stay with the adults, and don’t go too far without your buddy. Okay?” Max nodded, and with that, he was off and running, meeting up with one of his classmates.

“So what about him?” Karen asked, snapping Ian out of his gaze back at the kid with the wizard costume on. Isaac had his head down on Ian’s chest, biting his nails as he looked around for any more scary creatures.

Mickey rolled his eyes. “Do we really have to sit here and figure this out?” he asked. “We’ll all just take him with us and sacrifice a ride at a time.”

Mandy shrugged. “Good point.” They started walking further into the park when Mandy spoke again. “Last one to say peanut gets the kid.” She spoke at an all-time speed. “Peanut!” She started running away from the three, prompting them to race against each other.

“Peanut!” Karen and Mickey shouted at the same time, Mickey a little sooner than Karen.

Ian started to chase the three, rolling his eyes as he held onto his son. “Really, guys? You guys would treat me like that?” They all just giggled, stealing glances at the redhead and giving him shit-eating grins.

* * *

“What are you dressed as?” one of the girls in Max’s group had asked as they walked on over to the Ricochet. She was dressed head to toe in red sparkles and glitter and whatnot, holding onto a gold scepter with a heart in the middle.

Max glanced down at his outfit, placing his hands on his vest. “I’m the Joker. He’s one of the bad guys in the Batman movies.”

The girl nodded, showing interest. “I’ve never seen the Batman movies before.”

“My Dad showed them to me after we watched the cartoons,” Max added. “He and my aunt helped me pick the stuff out for the costume.”

The brunette smiled. “It looks really nice.”

Max grinned, his smile matching the upward ends of his red face paint. “Thanks,” he responded before eyeing her outfit. “What are you dressed as?”

The brunette grabbed onto her little skirt and swayed it every which way. “I’m the Queen of Hearts.”

“Cool. We both have playing cards with our costumes on them.” Max pulled the Joker card out of his pocket and showed it to the girl for her to see.

She, too, retrieved her card with her respective character on it from out of her black and gold purse. “I have mine with me, too.” A smile appeared on the little girl’s face, and Max would be lying if he said he wasn’t into her.

The group neared the Ricochet, and Max and the Queen of Hearts girl were just about to get in a seat together when Max felt someone’s hand on his arm. “You have a partner already, Max?” It was Max’s classmate, Dylan, dressed as a pirate.

“Um, yeah. But I’ll get on with you on the next one.” As the green-haired boy sat beside the brunette, Dylan went to find another partner somewhere around the circumference of the ride. Once buckled in, Max turned to the girl in question. “I didn’t get your name.”

She smiled simply. “Lisa.”

“I’m Max. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out a gloved hand for her to shake, and she took it.

“Nice to meet you, too.”

Max then came to the conclusion that he really liked Lisa – not just for her costume, but also for her kindness. From there, however, he wasn’t sure how to take it. Sure, he knew how to make friends at school, but most of them were guy friends, with maybe one or two female friends.

Lisa was different. She was someone that Max got nervous talking to for a little while. Max would sometimes see her in the hallways at school, but that was pretty much it. They didn’t have classes together, so they never got the chance to talk. And now that they do, Max wasn’t sure on where to go from here.

“Have you been here before?” Lisa asked curiously.

Max shook his head. “This is my first time here,” he answered. “It’s my brother’s, too, but he’s too little to get on some of the rides.”

“You have a brother?”

“His name is Isaac,” Max explained. “His dad and my dad are married.”

Lisa’s eyebrows shot up on her forehead. “You have two dads?” she asked out of amazement.

“Yeah,” Max replied.

She looked at him for a moment before she frowned in confusion. “But how would you guys be born from them?” Lisa then asked. “I thought mommies do all the work.”

Max shrugged. “Dad told me that a lady that was willing to have kids gave us to them because my dad and Isaac’s dad wanted us to be a part of their family.”

“But wouldn’t your dad have to be with the lady so you would be born?”

Max thought about it for a little bit. He and Ian never really had an extended conversation on the whole _giving up DNA to get a kid in return_ thing, so it was hard for him to explain the process. “I’m not sure,” he responded. “Dad never really told me much about that.”

Lisa nodded, deep in thought before she turned back to Max. “They’re probably cooler than my dad. He tells dad jokes and embarrasses himself in front of the family at family reunions.”

Max laughed. “You haven’t seen my dad. One time, I had a birthday party, and he was trying to get the kids to dance, but he was the only one dancing.”

Lisa genuinely laughed back. “The only one?”

“Yeah. It got a little boring before the magician showed up.”

In the middle of their conversation, they both heard the man outside of the gates call out, “take five!” There was a sudden silence as the maintenance men looked around and checked to see if everyone was safe. They all had their thumbs in the air, and the man on the intercom called, “all clear.”

All of a sudden, the swings started to rise. Max looked down only for a moment and noticed that his feet could no longer touch, or even reach, the ground. Soon enough, the ride started going in a circle, and everyone was starting to lean on one side as their individual seats swung higher.

Right next to him, Lisa had her eyes shut, most likely to not look down and get ultimately scared of the height their chair was currently at. Max timidly took in his surroundings. Everything seemed to be below their feet, and the ride was going at a faster pace now that it had started. He didn’t want to make it look like he was scared, but at the same time, he was intimidated by how high they were.

He glanced over at Lisa’s hands on the bars before he placed a hand on top of one of hers, shutting both of his eyes as the wind blew through his Joker-esque hair.

* * *

Ian held onto Isaac’s hand and gazed up as the Demon’s coaster cars went around and around on the tracks. He smirked the moment he heard Mickey and Mandy’s screams as they dropped down and went back up again.

“Daddy,” Isaac muttered out, tugging down on Ian’s hand. The redhead glanced down at him and pointed to something in the distance. “I want a tiger.” Ian followed Isaac’s gaze and spotted one of the game booths with the different-sized stuffed animals hanging up on the walls.

“We gotta wait for Papa and your aunt, and tell them where we’re going first, alright?” Isaac reluctantly nodded, and they both continued to wait for them as the coaster met its end.

A couple of minutes later, Ian watched with a smile on his face as Karen, Mickey, and Mandy made their way out of the exit walkway. Mickey gave him a pointed look. “Don’t give me that fuckin’ look, Gallagher.”

Mandy rolled her eyes, gesturing towards Isaac. “Mick, seriously? Your damn kid is right there.”

“Like you’re not doing it, too.”

Ian rolled his eyes at their usual bickering session before breaking them up. “Alright, okay,” he intervened. “Why don’t we play a game now? Isaac wants one of the toys at the booth. We can shoot hoops.”

Karen and Mandy glanced over at the game booth area closest to them before meeting Ian’s eyes. “You seriously wanna challenge me in basketball?” Mandy asked, inching an eyebrow on her forehead. She stepped towards Ian and folded her arms. “I can wipe the floor with your skinny butt.” Ian smirked in response, accepting her challenge.

Mickey scoffed and shoved a hand into Mandy’s shoulder. “No, you wipe the floor with your tits and your eyeliner,” he remarked, making her frown and groan in his direction. “Besides, he’s our kid. We’re treatin’ him today.” He folded his arms in front of his chest, standing beside his husband and his son.

Mandy looked back at Karen, and the two women smirked. “Fine then,” Karen declared. “The hubbies against the besties. Whoever loses has to buy the little guy whatever he wants from the souvenir shop before we leave.” Mandy and Ian nodded, but Mickey rolled his eyes once more.

“Jesus, did you really have to name it that?” the raven-haired man asked, making Ian giggle under his breath.

The five made it over to the basketball booth, the adults paying a dollar to the man in the striped shirt. Isaac stood behind them and watched as they all grabbed a few basketballs from the pit in front of them. He suddenly felt left out the moment the game started, playing with his fingers as he watched Ian and Karen shoot a hoop each.

Isaac got distracted by the number of people in the park with superhero capes and light-up toys. He wanted some of those for himself, but he wasn’t sure how he would tell his dads, and his aunt and her best friend that he wanted to head over to the souvenir shop. Before he had the chance to figure out what he wanted to do, he spotted a stage with performers in sparkly, blue outfits, and he decided to head on over and see what was going on.

A couple of seconds later, Mandy and Karen’s team won against Ian and Mickey’s. The girls cheered in triumph, high-fiving each other and laughing in the men’s general direction. Mickey ran a hand over his face, and Ian wrapped an arm around him to keep him ground.

“The big tiger right there,” Karen told the man behind the booth, and he went to retrieve the large, white and black stuffed animal, handing it to the blonde.

Mandy walked over to Ian and Mickey, giving her older brother a knowing look. “Look who I’m wiping the floor with now,” she stated.

Mickey was about to challenge her when Ian held his husband back, placing his chin on Mickey’s shoulder. “You think it’s not a fair game now,” Ian stated, “but at least our son got a toy out of it.”

“And another one that’s probably gonna run our pockets,” Mickey added, gritting his teeth. Ian planted a wet kiss on Mickey’s cheek to calm him down, making Mandy stick her finger in her mouth and fake gag.

Karen looked around, trying to spot the little boy, and frowned when she realized something was off. “Speaking of which,” she said, “where _is_ the little guy?”

Ian released Mickey and started looking around from where they stood. They felt the panic creep up in their chests. “Shit,” Mickey mumbled under his breath, running his hand over his mouth, flustered.

“Isaac?” Ian called, keeping his eyes open for the little boy. “Isaac!”

“Where could he have gone?” Mandy asked the men, running her hand through her bangs.

“How the hell should we know?” Mickey asked, throwing his arms in the air.

Karen folded her arms, the stuffed animal clutched to her chest. “So much for the Father of the Year award campaigns, you guys,” she sassed, making Mickey flip her off.

He turned back around and noticed Ian running both of his hands through his hair, ducking his head in panic. Mickey grabbed him by the arms and adjusted his head so he was looking directly in Mickey’s eyes. “Ian,” he tried calming him down, but the continuous rise and fall in Ian’s chest made himself worry. “Calm down, alright? We’re gonna find the kid. Just trust me. He couldn’t have gone far.”

“How do you know that?” Ian asked, trying to steady his breathing. Unfortunately, the scare in knowing that a four-year-old was wandering around in a park as big as Six Flags was ultimately high. Ian could practically feel his heart being ripped out of his own chest. “Kids can get kidnapped here, Mick. Who knows if there’s a pedophile or something out here –“

Mickey grabbed onto Ian’s shoulders. “We’ll find him. We have to, okay? Isaac won’t go anywhere without his parents. You know that.” They kept like that for a moment, Ian’s eyes getting watery as he nodded in response. Once Ian was back to his normal state of breathing, Mickey turned back to Mandy and Karen. “I want you guys to go with Ian and make sure he’s okay,” he spoke in a low voice. “And keep your eyes out for Isaac.”

Before Mickey got a chance to walk off, Mandy called to him. “Mick, where are you going?”

“I’ll look around for him in one direction, and you take the other.” With that, Mickey was gone, leaving Mandy and Karen to tend to Ian, who was on the verge of crying as he looked around at the smaller kids in the park.

Karen walked over to Mandy and Ian, adjusting the white tiger in her arms. “How about we get this thing in the car first? My freakin’ arms are killing me.”

“Ian wants to find Isaac first,” Mandy told her, placing a hand on Ian’s shoulder.

“It’s one thing for me to go looking around for a lost child that I didn’t pop out of my vagina,” Karen argued, “it’s another to actually do it while I’m carrying this damn animal of his, now is it?”

“My brother’s top can hear you, you know?” Mandy barked with some attitude, and Karen tried to look frustrated as she held in a laugh.

After a couple of seconds, Ian grabbed the car keys out of his pocket and handed them to Mandy. “Take it to the car,” he told him lowly. “I’ll text you where I am.” He started to walk ahead, his hands in his pockets as he wandered around the park, leaving Mandy and Karen by themselves.

The two girls sadly watched Ian stride away before Karen led the way back to the parking lot. “Look who owes me a funnel cake,” she spoke.

“Speak for yourself.”

* * *

It had been about an hour and a half since Max hung out with the other kids, and he was having a blast. He and Dylan made the courageous decision to hop aboard one of the thriller rides together, screaming their heads off as the coaster for the Viper whirled around on the tracks.

Once they got off, Max and Dylan met up with Lisa, who was eating some cotton candy and watched the ride go around. “That was fun,” Dylan told Max, almost out of breath.

“That one guy behind us was so loud,” Max complained, rubbing at his ears.

Dylan scoffed. “Scaredy cat.”

Lisa grabbed another piece of her cotton candy before she allowed Dylan and Max to get some. “I would never be brave enough to ride some of these things,” she stated before putting the sugary treat in her mouth.

Dylan gave her a dismissive hand wave. “I can ride any of these rides without getting scared.”

Max smirked. “You were shouting your head off on the ride we just got off of.”

“Shouting because of how awesome it was.”

Max rolled his eyes before he turned back to Lisa. “We can get on the rides with you, if you want,” he invited her with a shrug. “We can take turns sitting next to you and stuff like that.” Dylan smiled at that idea, bringing his arm around the back of Max’s neck. “And hey, if there really is a scary ride, we can be scared together.”

“Exactly,” Dylan agreed.

Lisa looked between Dylan and Max before nodding her head slowly. “Okay,” she declared, and the boys cheered before leading the way to the next ride, with the other kids and the chaperones by their side. “What ride are you guys getting on next?” Lisa asked, looking around at the nearby attractions.

Max looked around until his eyes fell upon the one thing he had been looking for. “What about the Goliath?”

Dylan furrowed his eyebrows at the green-haired boy. “You have got to be kidding me,” he replied breathlessly.

Max frowned. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s one of the scariest rides here,” Dylan explained. “My older brother even got scared when he first got on it.”

“You rode it before?”

“No,” Dylan answered. “My brother was the reason I didn’t go.”

Lisa looked up at the Goliath’s roller coaster from where she stood and shook her head slowly. “I don’t know about this, Max. What if we get hurt on it?” she asked timidly.

Truth be told, Max was actually worried about getting on it as well. This was his first time here at Six Flags, after all, and he wasn’t sure how he would react to all of the twists and turns that the Goliath had to offer. Still, he was a very optimistic person, and if this would be his only time in a while that he would be at Six Flags, he wanted to make the most of it.

“We can all go together and see what it’s like,” Max suggested. “We’re all getting on it for the first time anyway. It could be fun.”

Just as Lisa and Dylan hesitantly gave in, all three of them overheard one of the chaperones talking on the phone. “Okay,” Oliver told Mickey on the other line. “We’ll look out for him some more. We promise.” After a couple of seconds, he hung up his phone and placed it in his pocket before looking down at Max. “Max, if you see your brother around here, let us know so we can call your dad back.”

Max frowned in worry. “Isaac is missing?”

“Your brother is missing?” Lisa asked, suddenly filled with more worry.

“He left about a while ago, and your dads don’t know where he went,” Oliver admitted with his shoulders slumped. “They’re kind of scared right now that something happened to him.”

Max bit his bottom lip, wondering where Isaac could have possibly gone in that amount of time. He never admitted it aloud, but he loved his little brother just as much as Ian and Mickey loved him. Before when Max found out that there would be another baby in the house, he thought he wouldn’t get any focus on him anymore. Max hated not being the main thing people brought their attention to, but he loved that he got someone to hang out with at home. And plus, Ian and Mickey reminded him every day how much they loved Max, and that was the thing that kept him ground all this time. The jealousy didn’t stick for too long after that.

So when he found out that his baby brother could be wandering around by himself with no parental care, it only made Max even more scared as he, Lisa, and Dylan made their way in line towards the Goliath. He kept his eyes and ears open for some familiarity around him, but there was no luck.

Max was now afraid to board the Goliath, but for a whole different reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is pretty self explanatory, lmfao.
> 
> I almost went to Fright Fest at Six Flags this year, but after what happened the first time I went to Six Flags around this time of year, and the fact that all of my friends are too far to come to Illinois and experience the fun (or fright, however you put it) with me, I backed out (yeah, I'm a chicken, guys). But hey, this story wouldn't have gotten uploaded if I was gone, now would it? ;)
> 
> Another part's coming after this. Until then, happy Halloween to those celebrating it. If you're like me and staying in with some horror movies, then we can just pass the popcorn back and forth if you want to. :D
> 
> Links: Max's Joker [costume](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6a/c5/7b/6ac57b8fe5676c6434dfd6ef54b8630d.jpg); Lisa's Queen of Hearts [costume](http://www.costumecollection.com.au/img/0/4/queen-of-hearts-tween-kids-costume-35748d53.jpg) (this is not necessarily it, but it was the best one I could look up that was appropriate and comfortable enough for her to move in); the stuffed white [tiger](http://www.giantstuffedanimals.com/media/largestuffed/WhiteTiger2.jpg).


	2. Attractions

Isaac felt like he had been walking for ages. He made every attempt he could to find his parents, but he couldn’t find one familiar face in the crowd. Tears started to fall down his face as he looked up at the older people walking past him with their own kids. All he wanted was to run into Ian and Mickey’s arms, reuniting with the comfort from them he loves so much. For all Isaac knew, though, they could have left him behind.

The little boy hugged himself as he neared a bench beside a trash can. He was about to sit down for a brief moment when a creature with a gray, wrinkly face jumped out of the bushes and growled at him. Isaac started to scream and cry, making a run for it as far from him as possible.

Before he made it that far, he ran into someone’s leg. He looked up, more tears falling down his cheeks as he encountered a man dressed as a colorful clown. “Oh, sorry son,” the man spoke to him. Isaac wasn’t taking it too well, for he backed away when the man made eye level with him. “I didn’t wanna scare you like that,” the man added before he frowned in confusion and concern. “You looking for your mommy and daddy?”

Isaac was about to burst out into more tears when he heard a familiar voice call his name. “Isaac!” Mickey’s voice boomed throughout the area. Isaac noticed from the corner of his eye that Mickey had just made his way down the path past a couple of girls with matching souvenir shop shirts and Superman capes. “Isaac!” Mickey called again, craning his neck for a familiar face.

“Papa! Papa!” Isaac cried as he ran over to his father.

The moment Mickey noticed him, his eyes bugged out of their sockets before he knelt down and held his arms out for Isaac to run into. “Christ, there you are,” he replied, letting out a breath of air he didn’t realize he was holding in. Once he got a good grip on the little, raven-haired boy, Mickey picked him up and embraced him in a tight hug.

The clown walked on over to Mickey, pointing to the boy in his arms. “He’s yours?”

Mickey nodded. “Yeah.” His voice was a little hoarse from the shouting, in addition to the building fright in the back of his mind. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” the clown stated before walking off, leaving Mickey to his son.

Once they were alone, Mickey exhaled from his nostrils and brought one of his hands to Isaac’s chin, making the boy stare back into his father’s equally blue eyes. “Look at me,” he groaned, taking in Isaac’s wet face. He let a minute pass before he felt himself trembling. “Never go off like that ever again. You hear me? Daddy’s walkin’ around, worried sick about you.”

Isaac’s chin trembled as he looked at his father’s face and nodded. “I’m sorry, Papa.” His head sunk as he continued to sob in Mickey’s chest.

He wasn’t sure how, but Isaac’s innocence always softened Mickey to the point where his anger completely subsided. As much as Mickey wanted to be upset at Isaac for running off, he was only a little kid, and this was supposed to be a great time for him. He didn’t want to ruin it, despite the fact that he almost broke down after almost two hours of looking up and down for the little rascal.

Mickey rubbed the back of Isaac’s head in an attempt to comfort him and calm him down. He kissed him on one of his tear-soaked cheeks and cradled the toddler in his arms. “I got you, bud. Remember that, okay?” he whispered to the crying kid, and Isaac nodded.

Isaac grabbed onto Mickey’s jacket and mumbled, “I wanna go home.”

Mickey continued to rub Isaac’s back. “Your brother and his friends are out on the roller coasters and stuff with his friends, though, bud,” he explained, “and if we go home now, he’s gonna be upset that we left early.” He ran his fingers through Isaac’s dark hair near his neck and placed his chin lightly on top of his head. “We don’t want that, would we?”

Mickey heard the little boy whimper in his arms. “No.” He continued to rub his back, bouncing a bit so his cries could calm down some more. The point of coming to Six Flags was to have fun, and he wanted both of his kids to have fun, despite his earlier protests he made to Ian about bringing Isaac to a place like this around Halloween time.

“I have an idea,” Mickey whispered to Isaac, still holding him tight. “How about we stay a little bit longer, maybe get on some rides or play a few games and stuff. What do you say? Max can’t have all the fun, right?”

Isaac gazed up into his father’s eyes. “But Papa,” he spoke, “the monsters are going to come after me and scare me.”

Mickey couldn’t help but secretly agree. He doesn’t come to Six Flags that often, much less around Halloween when Fright Fest was going on around the park and stuff. Isaac was still young and naïve; he didn’t deserve to walk around with tears in his eyes as the dolled-up bastards sent looks his way and terrified the living shit out of him.

“You don’t have to worry about them, alright?” Mickey cooed, caressing Isaac’s face and wiping the stray tears away. “Papa’s gonna hold you and take you wherever you want, okay? This jacket I’m wearing has an invisible shield around it, and every time I put it on, all of the monsters go blind and bleed from the inside out. They’ll be dead before you know it, and neither one of us will get hurt.” He paused, trying to get a better look in his son’s eyes. “Sound good?”

Isaac nodded. “Okay,” he responded, resting his head back on Mickey’s chest.

“Okay, but you gotta keep your eyes closed, alright?” Mickey asked, bringing his hand up to the side of his face so Isaac’s eyes will be protected from the next fake villain that decided on walking up to them. “Don’t want them to burn holes in your head.”

Isaac nodded, tightening his grip onto Mickey’s neck. “Don’t let go, Papa.”

Mickey cradled him for a little while longer before he started walking. “I won’t, bud.”

* * *

Lisa, Max, and Dylan all got on one cart of the Goliath roller coaster, allowing the maintenance people to make sure they were secure in the vehicle. Max’s heart started to rapidly beat due to the anxiety coming from the ride itself and the suspicion related to where in the park his brother was. He tried his best to cover it up so Lisa and Dylan wouldn’t notice, but that didn’t stop his mind from racing around it.

“Take five,” a woman over the intercom called, and after a couple of seconds, she stated, “all clear.” The ride slowly turned for a moment before it started going up the steep tracks.

Lisa didn’t waste any time covering her eyes at the coaster went further up. Dylan had already started shouting, but due to fear instead of the thrill. Max wanted to look around as much as possible to get a good idea of how far up they were going, but his stomach was already turning the second his eyes fell upon the rest of the park below them.

“I don’t like this,” Dylan called out, staring ahead as the coaster went up about a few more feet.

Max shut his eyes, gripping onto the bar at his lap. He remembered one time when he got to watch a movie with Isaac, Uncle Carl, Uncle Debbie, and Uncle Liam. It was on Halloween last year. The older kids agreed to watch Sinister 2, and every time a jump scare appeared on the television screen, Isaac would hide under the covers and cry. Max remembered when get under there with him, holding him until he stopped crying and protecting him from the bad guys.

Everything made him think about Isaac, for some reason, and all he wanted was to make sure he was okay. He wanted to be okay himself. That’s why he gripped onto the bar as tightly as he could, bracing himself for the drop they were all about to take down the tracks.

About a few seconds later, some screams were heard near the front of the coaster, indicating the start of the drop. Lisa, Max, and Dylan screamed along with them, keeping their eyes shut as they fell straight down and rounded the coaster tracks. Dylan’s screams were short and loud as the ride continued. His eyes had slipped open at one point. “Don’t let me die! Don’t let me die! Don’t let me die!”

The ride lasted for about thirty seconds longer before it slowed down. The coaster moved towards the entrance and exitways and stopped immediately. Once Max gained the courage to open his eyes again, he turned his head to his right, noticing the way Lisa rubbed at her forehead and the way Dylan’s hair stuck up on his head.

“That was fast,” Max muttered out, still shaking.

“I’m never getting on that again,” Lisa agreed, raising the bar as they got unlocked from their positions.

The moment they all stood up, Dylan started to whine. “I can’t feel my legs.”

Max took a couple of breaths before he looked in Dylan’s direction and laughed. “You were scared.”

“You were, too.”

“Not as much as you.”

Dylan rolled his eyes in surrender. “Fine, whatever,” he replied reluctantly.

The three followed the others out past the exit gates. Patricia was on her phone, talking to someone on the other line and nodding her head. “Oh, great,” she answered with a lightness in her voice. “Okay, I’ll tell him.” She hung up her phone and glanced down at Max. “They found your brother.”

Max’s eyes lit up at the news. “They did?”

“His dad took him around the park to look at some rides,” Patricia added.

Max could feel himself breathe again, and not just because he finally faced one of his fears. Isaac was okay again, and that’s the one thing he was waiting to hear. “Can we go find them?” Max asked her, wanting to see his baby brother for the first time in a couple of hours.

“We could go find them, if you want.”

Max nodded, and Patricia started to lead the way towards the younger children’s rides. On the way there, Lisa and Dylan caught up with Max, curious as to what was happening. “They found him?” Dylan asked curiously.

“Yeah. Dad found him.”

Lisa made her way to Max’s right side. “Your birth dad found him?”

Max shook his head. “The other one.”

At that, Dylan’s eyes bugged out of their sockets. “Wait…you have two dads?”

That was when Max retold the whole story over again, keeping both of his friends as attentive as he could.

* * *

“Ian.” Mandy and Karen, while looking around for Isaac, had gotten on some of the rides and stuff while they were gone, almost forgetting the fact that Ian was left wandering around by himself. Mandy was about to text him when Karen spotted his red hair from a distance. “There you are,” the blonde told him, bringing a hand up to Ian’s shoulder. “Did you find him yet?” Ian slowly shook his head, the sadness long overtaking him.

Mandy skipped to Ian’s other side, bringing a hand through his arm and to the small of his back, guiding him forward. “Don’t lose hope, Ian. I mean, what if Mickey already found him and that he didn’t tell us yet.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell us yet?” Ian asked. His voice had gotten a little sore from the crying he had done a while ago.

“People forget things all the time,” Karen explained with a shrug. “Plus, he’s four years old. God forbid, they need that much attention at that age. Maybe Mickey got him some food or whatever to calm him down. Who knows how scared he got after being left alone for almost two hours.” Ian winced out of impulse. The fact that it had been two hours since Isaac left them stung Ian’s insides.

Mandy patted his back and looked around, finally taking sight of the lemonade cart close to them. “How about a drink to wetten your whistle?” she suggested, reaching into her purse to pull out a five dollar bill. “You look like you need it after looking so hard.” When Ian didn’t respond, Mandy nudged at his arm. “I’ll get you your favorite,” she added. “What is it, cherry lemonade or blueberry?”

Ian was still for a couple of moments. He wanted to keep looking for his son and make sure he wasn’t hurt. At the same time, he hadn’t been having fun himself since he left. He didn’t want to forget that there was a missing child on his hands, sure; but it’s been a while before today that Ian got the chance to let loose. Usually, his days were spent going to work, raising the kids, maybe get a call from Fiona back at the house, and then sleep in the same bed with Mickey. They haven’t become the boring couple who fought over what dining room sets to buy just yet, even if they’ve been married for a few years, but the excitement in their lives wasn’t at its best, either.

After a minute, Ian shrugged, his hands in his pockets. “Cherry.” Mandy grabbed his chin and squeezed his cheeks with her fingers and thumb before she made it over to the cart and made her purchase.

“You sure you don’t wanna get on at least one ride while we look?” Karen asked, trying to get a better look at Ian’s face. “Maybe if we’re high enough, we can spot them walking somewhere.”

Ian shook his head. “I don’t wanna ride anything until I know my baby is safe.”

Karen nodded understandably and grabbed her cell phone out of her purse. “I’ll text him for you,” she stated, dialing Mickey’s number. “He’s probably lost trying to find us. After all, the big little man is too good for maps and directions, am I right?” Ian smirked slightly at the joke directed at Mickey before his smile fell once more.

Mandy came back with three lemonade flavors: one with strawberry, one with blueberry, and one with cherry for Ian. Mandy gave Karen the strawberry one and started drinking her own as Karen held the phone to her ear, waiting for a response from Mickey. No luck.

Karen stared down at her phone screen. “His phone must be off.” She paused. “Or on low battery.”

Ian’s eyes fell down to his drink in his hands, twirling the straw around as he tried to crush up the soft clunks of ice inside the Styrofoam cup. “We’ll keep looking, Ian,” Mandy encouraged him, wrapping an arm around the back of his neck. “They can’t be further than the park, obviously.” She paused, not getting a response back from Ian. “Maybe they’re in the kiddie section or something,” she suggested. “I mean, Isaac can’t get on much of the rides here anyways, right?”

Karen snickered. “Mickey Milkovich in the kiddie area of an amusement park?” she teased, but Mandy inched an eyebrow in her direction, prompting her to stop laughing.

Mandy walked around Ian so she could link arms with him and Karen, and she led the three of them through the park once more. “Come on. Let’s go.”

* * *

“Papa, I’m scared.” Isaac whimpered as he and Mickey stood in front of the Bouncer. Mickey tried his best to cheer the little guy up after the roller coaster of emotions he was on when he wandered around the park by himself. After some food in his system, Mickey thought he would feel better getting on one of the rides in the Kidzopolis area. Sadly, Isaac went back to feeling uneasy about being left alone.

“Come on, little man. It’ll be fun,” Mickey encouraged him, adjusting him on his hip. “You’ll get to go up and down and everything.”

Isaac took a moment to think about his options. He wanted to have fun while he was here, but after the few instances where a man or woman dressed as a scary creature came to scare the soul out of the toddler, he didn’t want to find out what would happen if one of them came back while he was on the ride. “What if the monsters come on the ride and hurt me?” he mumbled, grabbing onto the unzipped part of Mickey’s jacket.

Mickey rubbed the back of Isaac’s head in comfort. “It’ll be alright,” he convinced, looking over at the maintenance woman standing behind the operating machines for the ride. “You see that lady over there?” he asked, and Isaac looked in her general direction. “She keeps all of the bad guys off of the ride. Kinda like my jacket shield, but she has controls and stuff like that. No one will hurt you then. I promise.”

Isaac his head, lowering it back onto Mickey’s chest. “But Papa,” he said in a little voice, “what if the monsters come to get you?”

Taken back just slightly, Mickey glanced down at his son and looked him in the eyes. He smiled, caressing his cheek with his thumb. “Papa’s gonna be fine. My shield still works, so they won’t be messing with me for too long.” When Isaac didn’t say anything else, Mickey rubbed on his left arm. “What do you say?” A couple of seconds later, Isaac nodded, and Mickey felt the smile creep on his face once again.

Mickey kissed the kid on his cheek and placed him on his feet. “You have fun, bud. Okay?” he asked, tousling his hair just a bit. Isaac occasionally looked behind him to make sure that his father was safe standing there by himself, and soon enough, he was in line with the other kids around his age.

The woman helped Isaac into a seat in the middle of the ride, and as Isaac got adjusted, Mickey watched from afar, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of his son. When all of the children were locked in and ready, the maintenance woman checked to see if the coast was clear. When it was, she pressed a button on the control panel, and the ride began to move.

Isaac looked around at the kids sitting next to him, gripping onto the handle bar in his lap as the ride went up. He stole a glance at Mickey, who had his hands in his pockets as he watched his son go up to the top. It wasn’t the height that Isaac was used to being at, so he got a little nervous when the ride stopped. He kept his eyes on Mickey, crossing his legs as the anxiety built up in his chest.

The ride started to go down, and Isaac immediately closed his eyes, whimpering a bit due to the fall of the riding taking him aback. The other kids were shouting and cheering with their hands in the air. How they managed to do it, Isaac wasn’t exactly sure. Then again, it was Isaac’s first time here, and some of the other kids on the ride with him were a little bit older than he was.

When the Bouncer came to a complete stop, the handle bars had been lifted, and all of the kids started getting off all at once. Isaac timidly walked out of the gated area, looking around to see if any more creatures would run up behind him or anything like that. Luckily, none of them seemed to be nearby. He felt a little bit safer this time around.

“Hey, buddy. You did it.” Mickey walked around near the exit where Isaac was standing, picking the kid back up and lifting him in the air. A couple of giggles escaped Isaac’s mouth as he looked back at the smile etched on his father’s face. Mickey held onto the little boy, rubbing the back of his head into their hug.

Isaac lifted his head on Mickey’s shoulder, noticing a few familiar faces heading their way. “Daddy!” he called, prompting Mickey to turn them around.

The color on Ian’s face immediately returned as he spotted his son’s face from afar. He rushed over to them, holding his free hand out so Mickey could hand the kid over. Ian hugged him so tight; he swore he came in contact with Isaac’s beating heart a couple of times. Mickey gulped at Ian’s face as they hugged, realizing how much trouble this had caused him.

Speaking of which, Ian held Isaac in the arm with his lemonade cup in it as he started attacking Mickey with the other arm. “Mickey, what the hell?” Ian barked. “Why didn’t you call me –“

Mickey held both of his hands out in an attempt to calm Ian down. “Ay, ay,” he responded defensively. “Ian.” He could make out the tears that threatened to fall down Ian’s face and knew exactly where this was headed.

Mandy intervened for a moment, reaching her arms out towards Ian to grab Isaac. “Come on, little man,” she cooed, grabbing him from underneath his arms. “Papa and Daddy are gonna talk together for a minute, okay?” She adjusted him on her hip, and Karen walked over to rub her hand in his hair, leaving Ian and Mickey to stand alone and exchange the range of emotions flowing through their veins.

Ian’s face fell, his eyes trained on their feet. He didn’t even want to look Mickey in the eye anymore, which hurt a ton. But Mickey was determined to get Ian to understand the problem.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Mickey started sincerely. “My phone battery went out on me, and I couldn’t get to you like I wanted.”

“You could have found me then.”

“Isaac was pretty shaken up after what happened, man,” Mickey continued. “Said something about some costume dude jumping out of the shadows and scarin’ the piss out of him.”

Ian was quiet for a moment before his green eyes fell upon Mickey’s blue ones. “He actually said that?”

Mickey chuckled a bit. “You know what I mean.” It earned a giggle from Ian, and the air between them wasn’t as thick anymore. That was when Mickey stepped up to him and placed both of his hands on Ian’s face, guiding his eyes back to him again. “I know you’re thinking about the kids and everything,” Mickey spoke softly. “I’m thinking about ‘em, too. Isaac is practically a baby still; he just needed some attention for a little while.”

Ian bit his bottom lip and nodded. He remembered how much attention Max needed when he was a little baby just like Isaac is now. He just loved both of his kids, and he didn’t want anything to happen to them. Lucky for him, Mickey is by his side and was at least there to take the weight off of Ian’s shoulders.

“He’s still getting punished when we get home.” Ian mumbled, and Mickey started to laugh.

“Don’t you think getting lost was his punishment already?” he asked. “Besides, the little guy didn’t go trick-or-treating yet.”

Ian shrugged as the two of them walked over to Karen and Mandy. Karen was letting Isaac drink some of her strawberry lemonade when Mickey reached his hands over for the kid. “Alright, alright,” he spoke, holding Isaac back in his arms. “He already downed a whole slurpee and some ice cream by himself. Give him a breather.”

“You fed him already?” Karen asked, placing the cover back on her drink before taking a sip through her straw.

“He’s been begging me for a bunch of stuff. You wouldn’t believe how much he was able to get in his stomach.” Mickey looked into Isaac’s eyes and watched the toddler cover his mouth with his hand and utter out a giggle.

Ian stood next to them, silently giggling himself. Mickey was right; Isaac did need a lot of attention. And besides, the duo looked awfully cute together.

* * *

Ian, Mickey, Mandy, Karen, and the kids stayed in the park for a couple more hours, the adults catching up on lost time with Isaac, getting on more rides, and playing more games, before it was time to leave the park. They all had to get back to Chicago in time if they wanted to go trick-or-treating this year. After all Ian, Mickey, and Mandy didn’t put that much work into Max and Isaac’s Halloween costumes for nothing.

Mickey was following Mandy and Karen towards the exit, Isaac still in his arms, when Ian slowly started to creep up behind them. If it weren’t for Isaac’s little giggles, Ian probably would have gotten away with scaring the living shit out of Mickey. Unfortunately, Ian wasn’t that slick.

“Daddy’s scaring Papa,” Isaac laughed into Mickey’s shoulder, and the older man turned around and stale faced Ian, earning a sheepish smile back.

“I hope you weren’t intending on putting fake spiders on me like you did at your old place,” Mickey deadpanned before he rolled his eyes. “Assface.” He muttered it low enough so Isaac wouldn’t hear him.

Ian removed his hands from behind his back, revealing a stuffed husky and a stuffed minion. “I won these at the last minute,” he stated with a grin on his face, handing the minion to Isaac and waving the husky in the air for Mickey. His smile only grew when he heard Isaac play around with the toy in his hands.

“What am I gonna do with that?” Mickey asked, his eyebrows going up to his hair line.

“Play with it,” Isaac whimpered out, making Ian laugh.

Mickey looked down in Isaac’s eyes. “Son, Papa’s too old for toys,” he whispered, tickling at the little boy’s nose. “And I won’t have time to play with ‘em, either.”

Ian smirked. “Jesus, I should have gotten you the Angry Bird toy instead.”

Mickey frowned. “Piss off.” His words didn’t bite, though, and a smile crept onto Mickey’s face even when he tried to stop it.

“Besides,” Ian croaked, slowly walking over to Mickey’s other side, Isaac unaware of the conversation as he played with his little minion toy. Ian’s mouth was now close up by Mickey’s right ear, and Mickey swore he could feel an erection coming on. “We could cuddle up with it when we get home,” Ian whispered, innocently yet seductively. “He could be a little soft something for us when we’re done getting hard in the mattress.”

Mickey could feel his cheeks getting redder as Ian tempted him to go a little further with the conversation. Good thing they were in a park with a bunch of kids, or else Mickey would have taken Ian somewhere else just so they could fuck each other senselessly.

“Ian, we’re in the park, for Christ’s sakes.” Mickey tried to ignore the heat rising in the back of his neck, but Ian was literally trying hard to get him to go crazy.

Thank God Mandy walked over as soon as she could. Well, actually, it wasn’t good for her, for she noticed what was going on and started to gag. “Get a room, why don’t ya?” she groaned, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Mickey was about to smart talk her when he heard Max’s friends approach them. They were all in their own conversations. Dylan had bid Max a farewell as his father took him towards the parking lot, leaving Max to interact with Lisa.

“I really had a fun time,” Max told her, scratching the back of his head.

Lisa smiled. “Me, too.”

“Are you gonna come trick-or-treating with us tonight?” Max asked, a little hopeful that he would get to see Lisa, as well as Dylan, later on that night.

“We live about a couple of blocks away from you guys,” Lisa stated, and she shrugged. “I could ask my mom to meet at your place.”

“Really?” Max asked with a smile.

“Sure.” With one final, simplistic smile, Lisa leaned over towards Max and placed a kiss on his pale cheek. Max, as well as his parents and aunt in the background, all gave shocked looks in Lisa’s direction, and the girl in the Queen of Hearts costume began walking towards her mother. “I’ll see you then, Max.”

Once Lisa was gone, Max stood still in the same spot for a couple of minutes. Mandy and Ian came over, taking him out of his trance. “Someone got a crush today?” Mandy teased with a smile on her face.

“She’s really pretty, Max,” Ian agreed.

Max nodded, his eyes still on Lisa as she left. “I know,” he sighed, walking with Mandy and Ian to the car. “She’s great.”

They all made it over to Mickey and Isaac, the former making an attempt to cover his mouth at the scene he just witnessed before his eyes. “Isaac!” Max called to his little brother in his father’s arms. Mickey placed Isaac down so the two brothers could wrap their arms around each other. They started a whole conversation about what happened in the park as Mandy led them to the car, leaving Ian and Mickey to stroll behind them.

Mickey inched an eyebrow on his head as he turned to his husband. “That’s his girlfriend or something?”

Ian shrugged. “They look like they’re just friends.”

“Friends, my ass.” The two of them laughed a bit before walking a bit faster to catch up with the others. Mickey kept his eyes on the back of Max’s head, shaking his own head at the exchange between him and Isaac. “Remember when he had that slumber party, and I told you that I always thought he would, uh –“

“Shut up.” Ian interrupted, snickering ultimately at what he thought Mickey was going to say. The two men laughed their asses off as they got in the front two seats of the vehicle and drove everyone back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, guys. He's safe and sound now. :)
> 
> Happy Halloween once again. Time for me to kick back to a good, old, scary movie. :D
> 
> Links: Isaac's stuffed [minion](http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/tru_prod_images/Despicable-Me-2-Talking-Minion--pTRU1-16878662dt.jpg); Mickey's stuffed [husky](https://www.elitchgardens.com/sites/elitch/uploads/images/jobs/Games_Sm.jpg).


End file.
